


An Echo of the Past

by Burgie



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Hyur WoL, Kinktober, Lingerie, female WoL, knotting happens but it's not really a major thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 03:50:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21092942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Astrid decides to pay her boyfriend a late night visit.





	An Echo of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Kinktober prompt: Lingerie

Astrid didn't want to think about how long she'd been pacing her inn room, her thumbnail in her mouth, her eyes glancing every so often at the attire laid out on her bed as her bare feet padded across the floor. She looked at the clothing again now, cheeks turning almost as red as her hair, green eyes trying to look everywhere but at that. Why was she so nervous about this? She loved G'raha (and he had given her permission to call him that, though he may still be the Exarch to everyone outside of Astrid and her circle of friends), and it had been long enough, and she wanted their first time to be special. It was quite possibly his first time too, given how almost shy he'd been around her back when she'd first known him somewhere between five and two hundred years ago (or was it technically still five or so? She wasn't sure, it seemed like an age had passed since last she'd seen his face. Well, not counting his reveal after that Innocence fight, but even that had been tinged by white and pain unlike anything she'd ever known).

At last, Astrid forced her feet to stop, forced herself to turn and face the bed, and snatched up the silky, flimsy fabric before she could chicken out. She'd almost lost him, and she'd only just gotten him back. And anyway, it wasn't like she was new to the bedroom or new to men but- this was G'raha. Her G'raha, if sporting more of a crystalline appearance in places. She wondered if- but no, she had to stop that train of thought. She'd find out soon enough anyway, a thought that thrilled her followed quickly by guilt at her reaction to that thought. Groaning her frustration, Astrid picked up a pillow and buried her face in it. Why did he have to be so nice? Why did this have to matter this much? But no tears. No. She shouldn't cry over this, didn't want G'raha to see the tears on her cheeks or bloodshot eyes and worry. That wasn't what she was going for, wasn't what she wanted.

It was simple, as lingerie went- a pale pink, matching both Astrid's hair (and G'raha's, she guessed) and skintone, a pair of panties with a bow on the middle of the elastic and a top that was little more than a bra with sheer lace cascading down over her middle (the scars, as ever, glamoured so as not to worry G'raha. Perhaps someday she would let him see them, but not this time). Sliding the outfit on, Astrid felt like a blushing maiden, despite her maidenhood being long lost (along with whatever naive innocence she'd once had, back there in the snow and the lance of pure light and the shield and the blood and the pain and she had to stop before the tears came again). Shaking her head to rid it of the thoughts, Astrid strode forward and slipped on a robe that looked casual enough to conceal her true intentions, some extra protection concealed in the robe's pocket as ever.

The guard outside of the Ocular looked up at Astrid's approach, surprised to see someone here so late, but his face softened into a smile upon seeing that it was just her.

"Oh, one of the Exarch's friends," he said, hand falling away from his weapon. "I didn't know he'd called anyone here."

"It's a surprise visit," said Astrid, hoping that he wouldn't jump to conclusions and then judge her for that. But he only nodded, waving her in.

"Go right in, then," he said. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see a friend, especially after everything that's happened. I don't know what you did to return the night sky to all of Norvrandt once again, but... thank you, miss." And now, the earlier anxiety and minor self-loathing fell away, replaced by warmth at this recognition.

"It pleases me to see it too," said Astrid, and she meant it. The wrongness in the air had fallen away, and even G'raha now looked happier, though that was possibly partially just from being back at the Crystarium and back in good health again. He'd healed well from his experiences, both fading outside of the Crystarium and from what Emet had done to him.

Now, seeing G'raha's face as he looked up from a pile of books that was serving as a desk in the Umbilicus (Astrid suppressed the urge to craft him an actual desk right then and there on the spot, but only barely), his hands falling away from the hood that he'd been about to pull up.

"Oh, it's just you," he said. "I'm glad, I was worried it might have been... someone else."

"Even though you only gave your friends access to this place?" Astrid asked. "Should I have knocked?" She probably should have, now that she thought about it, but it was too late for that now.

"No, no, it's fine," said G'raha, waving that crystalline hand, the faceted surface of it catching the light. "Is this a friendly visit or...?"

"Friendly," Astrid said with a laugh. "Possibly... a bit more than friendly."

"Oh," said G'raha, finally taking in her attire. Now, it was his turn to blush as red as his hair. "Well, I was working, but this is a most pleasant interruption, I must say."

"I forgot how much of an intellectual you were," said Astrid, eyeing the books. "I should have guessed you were the Exarch when I came in here and saw all of these books."

"Well, curiosity didn't kill the cat, but it certainly got him locked in a tower for two hundred years and then shunted across dimensions," said G'raha, surprising Astrid into a laugh. She hadn't laughed like that in a long time.

"And yet... am I correct in thinking that there is yet one curiosity of yours that has not been satisfied?" Astrid asked. She would have sat on his desk if he had one, but she didn't much trust the ability of many stacks of books to hold her weight without spilling her onto the ground or into G'raha's lap. As amusing as that would be, it would also hurt.

"Well, I know what it's like to kiss you now and have you in my arms," said G'raha. Astrid had kissed him a lot, along with berating him, since they'd brought him back here. They'd spent very little time apart lately, actually, and not just because most of Astrid's friends had returned to the Source where their partners waited.

"In some ways, yes," said Astrid. "But... you have a bedroom, don't you?" Now, she felt a little shy, the confident persona that she'd used in the past for bedding men slipping away. Because G'raha was not other men, he was... different. Special. Partially crystal now, but she knew that the crystal was warm to the touch. A man out of time, out of his own dimension, even, but... happy.

"Uh, yes, but..." G'raha began, folding his ears back. "It's a bit..." he gestured around them, Astrid smiling.

"I can imagine," said Astrid. G'raha ran his crystalline hand over his hair, a motion that Astrid tracked with her eyes. "But I don't mind. Taking the Exarch back to my inn room would be just a tad more suspicious than me visiting you in the dead of night."

"Is it truly night already?" G'raha asked. "I knew I should have installed a clock in here, I found enough of them during my explorations..."

"Do you sleep?" Astrid asked, the question coming to her all of a sudden as G'raha got to his feet, picking up the staff that he now carried everywhere. Astrid wondered, vaguely, what had happened to his bow. Perhaps he had chosen this whatever magic it was in his pursuit to embrace the Allagan side of his heritage.

"I've gotten more than enough sleep for several lifetimes," said G'raha with a laugh. "But yes, I sleep sometimes."

"Sometimes," Astrid echoed, shaking her head. She followed him out of the Umbilicus and out into the main room, before he unlocked another door with a press of his crystal palm and entered. In the light that illuminated the room from several glowing crystals, Astrid saw... a mess. It was mostly books scattered over the floor, but a few items of clothing too, and some discarded cups and plates. Thankfully, none of them had food left on them, though Astrid still had to resist the almost manic urge to clean the place.

"Again, my apologies for the mess," said G'raha. "I don't receive many... any... visitors here."

"That's good to know," said Astrid. "Do you have to close the door too?"

"No, you can do that," said G'raha, though he did make his way back over to the door that they'd entered through and closed it, pressing his palm to the closed doors, which glowed faintly. "I had to lock them, though, so..." Seeing his nerves so prominently displayed, still the same anxious mess around the girl he liked that Astrid had known so long ago, put to rest any of her own fears, leaving only room for love to swell.

"That's the cat boy I first met," said Astrid wistfully, capturing G'raha's crystal hand in her own. G'raha stopped, staring at her, and she could swear that she could hear the pounding of his heart.

"This may sound cliche, but... being with you makes it feel as though no time has passed at all," said G'raha. "Though I know it has. You no longer look as... soft. Innocent." Astrid closed her eyes, shaking her head minutely.

"Can we leave those feelings aside just for one night, please?" Astrid asked, taking G'raha's other hand and tugging him gently over towards the bed. Though G'raha almost tripped, he followed her, sitting on the bed as Astrid sat beside him.

"Of course," said G'raha, reaching up to cup Astrid's cheek in his crystal hand. Astrid turned her head to place a kiss to the palm of his hand before her own hands went to the tie of her robe, loosening the knot and letting it fall open. Her heart raced, but the look on G'raha's face, the way his red eyes widened, made it all seem worth it.

"Now I suppose we can... satisfy that last curiosity, huh?" said Astrid. "You can touch, you know." She had never been with a virgin before, but she remembered well the words that she'd first heard, though she'd been too shy to act on that advice then. Though G'raha hesitated, his curiosity drove his hand onward, coming to rest on Astrid's side, over the sheer fabric.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Astrid nodded and, leaning forward, pressed a kiss to his lips, hoping that this would help ease his nerves. Spurred on, G'raha finally slipped one hand beneath the sheer fabric, palm coming to rest on pale skin, glamoured scars from battles long past. He murmured her name, and that was all it took for the floodgates to fall open, for the robe to fall to the floor, followed swiftly by G'raha's robes, the gold spikes lining his hood clinking against the crystalline floor as it came to rest atop the robe. Skin touched skin, lips touched lips, the heat between them growing as Astrid palmed his erection through his underwear, G'raha moaning and grinding his hips into her hand. Part of Astrid wanted to straddle him, but, just as the thought crossed her mind, G'raha was divesting her of her lingerie, tossing it to the ground, his underwear following.

"Wait, there's protection in the robe's pocket," Astrid suddenly remembered. That was one thing that she would tell him in time, the reason that she was insistent on protection, though possibly when things calmed down she might be okay with him, maybe, but right now, it was a necessity.

"Glad I am that one of us was prepared," said G'raha with a chuckle as he bent to pick up the robe, finding the small package and tearing it open. "I'd learned about these but..." he shrugged, cheeks still red as he slid the condom on, glancing between Astrid's legs before back at his cock, putting the pieces together in his mind. Astrid gave a moan of delight, glad when G'raha's fingers slid through her folds, the prep hasty but that was to be expected for his first time. At least there was some.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Astrid murmured as G'raha finally positioned himself above her, though his cheeks were still red. Now, he even looked like that young man, more of a boy, really, who she'd shared a tent with so long ago. Positioning himself correctly, the head of his cock pressing against her entrance, G'raha gave a thrust of his hips and slid in, giving a moan at the sensation, Astrid echoing his moan, her hands resting on his shoulders, legs parted, G'raha's eyes almost seeming to glow. His hair hung in his face, and he looked so vulnerable that Astrid had to kiss him, her hand sliding down his side, over some more crystal markings, reassuring him that everything would be okay, that everything was fine, that he was doing just fine for his first time.

The reassurances worked, G'raha moaning as he started to pick up the pace, exploring what he could do, what this really felt like, what it was like to get what he'd wanted for so long, the curiosity satisfied, his mind opening to countless new possibilities. And Astrid wondered, even as her back arched when G'raha hit the right spot, when it was that the role of blushing maiden had switched from herself to her boyfriend, the one who may just finally be the one who survived the life of an adventurer. After all, he'd survived the things left in the crystal tower.

It didn't even matter that G'raha didn't last long, because Astrid hadn't expected him to, considering this was their first time. But G'raha still panted, looking slightly ashamed of himself, concern etched across his face, ears folded back.

"Was that okay?" he asked, looking down at her. "I wasn't too bad, was I?" Astrid cupped his face, smiling gently up at him.

"Did you enjoy it?" Astrid asked, feeling already that G'raha couldn't move. When he noticed this, the panic started up again, but Astrid only hushed him with a finger to his lips. "Shh, don't move, it's fine. Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes," said G'raha, still looking guilty even as he settled down on top of Astrid, his tail trying to wrap around her but only settling against her leg. It felt nice, though. "I loved it. Did you...?"

"Of course I did," said Astrid. "It was wonderful." Her words carried weight, meaning far more than just the sex, which seemed to reassure her boyfriend at last. A purr rumbled from his chest as he rested his head on her shoulder, Astrid's hand coming up to stroke through his hair, gently stroking his ears.

"Glad I am to hear it," G'raha murmured. "But I guess... we'll have plenty of other chances, won't we?"

"If you agree to it," said Astrid.

"I'll clean my room especially for you," said G'raha. Astrid laughed, warmth welling up in her at his words.

"Let me know when you do," said Astrid. Because then, she'd be able to prepare a little more.


End file.
